


red string of fate

by lumiere9699



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, aka if nielwink were paired in the 1x1 mission, some panwink and ongwink, wanna one go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-09-19
Packaged: 2018-12-08 21:57:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11655522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumiere9699/pseuds/lumiere9699
Summary: Jihoon likes all his hyungs, except for him. Not that Daniel bullies him or hurts him in any way, it's actually the opposite. Daniel takes good care of all the members younger than him. Including Jihoon.So what is the problem?The truth is, whenever Daniel comes anywhere slightly close to him, he can never seem to control himself.





	1. shoes and pairs

**Author's Note:**

> my first nielwink fic. inspired by the wanna one go pairing mission. kinda sad they didn't get paired, i wanna see all them cute interactions.

"Hurry up, Guanlin! We're not gonna wait for you forever, you know," Park Jihoon shouts to his roommate, while trying to tie his mismatched shoes he specifically chose to wear for today's shoot.

"Yes, Jihoonie-hyung! Just putting on a shirt now, then coming out," the younger boy, Lai Guanlin, answers back.

"Aish, that kid."

Jihoon knows he's lying. Guanlin probably just finished showering. The boy woke up 10 minutes ago and Jihoon can't really blame him, he also hates waking up early. Well, at least his roommate sounds like he's hurrying as if his life depended on it.

Jihoon is still trying to knot his shoelaces while standing up. He doesn't want to kneel on the floor, he's wearing white pants today and of course, with white pants come great responsibility — to keep it clean. So he doesn't have a choice, all his hyungs are already occupying the few seating spaces available in the dorm's common area. He is actually waiting for someone — anyone — to give up a seat so he can peacefully finish this pretty simple task but so far, no one is offering him anything.

He suddenly gets annoyed at this thought. Really, why doesn't anyone notice his struggle?

He is distracted by this thought and forgets that he's lifting one foot up. Suddenly his supporting leg fails to balance his whole body and—

"Whoops, careful there Jihoonie," two strong arms catch Jihoon before he fell, just in time. He looks at his saviour's face and starts to open his mouth to thank him.

Great. Just great.

He feels his face turning red. It's Kang freaking Daniel. Jihoon likes all his hyungs, except for him. Not that Daniel bullies him or hurts him in any way, it's actually the opposite. Daniel takes good care of all the members younger than him. Including Jihoon.

So what is the problem?

The truth is, whenever Daniel comes anywhere slightly close to him, he can never seem to control himself. His face turns red, his normally sane mind can't work the way he wants it to, so he makes an even bigger fool of himself than usual.

He breaks out of his hyung's grasp and mutters a thank you under his breath, all without looking at Daniel's face.

"Jihoonie. Wait a sec." Daniel holds onto his shirt sleeve so Jihoon doesn't have any choice but to turn around. He's surprised to see Daniel go down on his knees and tie his shoelaces. His cheeks become even redder. The other members in the common area are watching, including Guanlin, all dressed up already.

"Daniel is such a prince charming, don't you all think?" the oldest, Yoon Jisung, gushed. "So cute."

Daniel finally finishes tying Jihoon's shoes.

In Jihoon's world, it feels like forever.

But it's actually only a minute.

Daniel glances up and directs his brighter-than-the-sun smile at the younger.

Jihoon looks away and says, sincerely this time, "Thank you so much, Daniel-hyung."

He finds the older's smile oh so beautiful, so much that he feels his heart is on the verge of bursting.

The older boy stands up and ruffles the smaller boy's hair. "No worries, Jihoonie." He's still smiling.

"I think everyone's ready to go? Yeah, okay, everyone let's go!" the group's leader announces.

All of a sudden, Guanlin is beside Jihoon. He grabs Jihoon's arm and pulls him out of the dorm and out of Daniel's presence.

Jihoon feels very thankful towards his roommate. He finally does something right for once.

 

 

 

 

 

The group is in their company's most spacious meeting room and is currently being informed what is going to happen the whole day.

Basically, they are all going to be paired off. Those who are voted as a pair by the fans need to be tied to each other with a red string the whole day. The pair can't be more than a meter apart. The staff will give each pair 100 thousand won to spend on whatever they can think of. At the end of the day, they are to reunite at Lotte World amusement park, so they can spend more time and have fun as a group. That seems simple enough.

"Okay, I'll now announce the pairs," Hyeji-noona, the producer of the reality show, looks at a piece of paper and reads, "First, Minhyun and Jaehwan."

"Oh yeah, hyung, let's rock this! Woo!" Jaehwan cheers, jumps up and down, and goes to hug Minhyun tightly.

Minhyun separates himself from the younger.

Jihoon isn't really worried about who he will be paired with. He will probably be with either Guanlin or Jinyoung, he's quite sure these are the famous "ships" that fans have made.

"Next pair, Jinyoung and Daehwi."

Everyone claps and cheers at this, everyone likes this couple. No one's surprised they are paired together.

"Next, Guanlin and Woojin." Wait. What?

Jihoon is panicking, questioning if Hyeji-noona said the names correctly. If it's not Guanlin who is gonna be paired with him, then who?

Guanlin looks grim but he acknowledges the announcement. He moves next to Woojin and links his arm to the older's.

Obviously, he wants to be paired with Jihoon. But he also likes Woojin, so it's fine. As long as Jihoon doesn't get paired with—

"Next pair, Daniel and Jihoon. Wow I didn't expect this pairing at all. You were rivals during the show but I guess fans are interested in seeing you together in a non-competitive environment," the producer comments.

Jihoon feels sick. This isn't happening, not to him. He just wants the ground to swallow him alive at this point. There's no way he's going to make it out of this mission alive. Everyone's going to notice how stupid he becomes when he's with Daniel. Wow this is great.

He forces a smile and looks at Daniel, checking his reaction. Daniel is already walking towards him, with that damn, brighter-than-anyone's-future smile.

Once he's beside Jihoon, he puts one of his arms around the boy's shoulders. "Let's do well, Jihoonie!"

The pretty boy is sure that his face already resembles a bright red tomato at this point. He just mumbles an okay. Distantly, he hears the producer reveal the last group, Seongwoo, Sungwoon and Jisung. But he isn't listening anymore.

He's currently focused on his hyung's arm still resting on his shoulders.

He doesn't know why, but he doesn't want it to be gone from there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello~ i'm new here...  
> honestly, i didn't really plan on making an account and doing this but the lack of nielwink makes me thirsty for more. here's some fluff to quench everyone's thirst!
> 
> ps: i haven't written anything for a while and i suck at writing descriptions, please bear with me, i'll get better in time. hopefully.
> 
> (yells i don't know how things work here i don't know what i'm doing lol i'm so confused but i'm just gonna write out my feelings for this OTP)
> 
> my twitter: @[meanhyung](https://twitter.com/meanhyung)  
>   
> 


	2. nerves and determination

The rest of the briefing finishes after twenty minutes, which Jihoon spends without paying much attention, fidgeting while biting his lips out of nervousness.

He tries to calm himself by thinking, It's only for 24 hours, not forever. I can survive that...right? It calms him down for a moment but then he looks at Daniel sitting beside him, so he forgets the meaning of the word calm again.

"Jihoon-ah."

Jihoon wakes up from his daydream of escaping this mission and feels Daniel stroking his head again and again.

"Uhm, hyung...what are you doing?"

Daniel stops what he's doing and makes a worried face. "Getting your attention because it seems like you're not on earth right now. Are you okay? You seem distracted."

Jihoon glances around the room. He barely noticed what is happening during his stupor. That's how nervous he is. The meeting is already finished, and some staff are already filming other pairs talking about what they think they will do for the day. The staff assigned to film the pair, obviously still sleepy, gets up from his seat and starts recording when he sees them talking.

"I'm fine hyung, just a bit tired. What time are we leaving?"

"Are you sure you're just tired? Uh, the staff said we need to leave right after tying us together."

Right after Daniel says this, one staff enters the room with red strings and starts bonding the pairs together. Another staff goes inside, holding a bunch of mobile phones. She starts to distribute them to the members.

"You're really giving us phones?" Sungwoon utters, his pretty eyes wide with disbelief.

"Yes, but only one phone per team. In case you need to call the other members or your managers," the PD answers. "You can also use it to take photos for your fans."

As per company rules, the members are forbidden to use phones unless needed. If their parents need to talk to them, they should call the managers first. That's why this is quite a shock to the members.

The staff hands the phone over to Daniel, presumably because he's the older one. Daniel holds the phone in his hand and glances down on it, his brows furrowed.

"Uh.. Jihoonie, do you mind keeping the phone?" Daniel tilts his head up to look at Jihoon, scratches his head shyly and shows an sheepishly embarrassed expression. Jihoon thought it was adorable. Stop thinking about things like these Park Jihoon!

He feels his ears burning, it must be red already.

"Not really hyung. But why?"

Daniel passes it to him. "I usually lose things, especially when I'm having fun."

Having fun. Yes, hyung but I'm pretty sure you're the only one who's going to enjoy this day. Jihoon takes the phone and puts it in his pocket, the corners of his lips turning down a little.

Jisung hears Daniel's confession and jokes, "Yeah and he's actually a giant baby that you probably need to take care of. Good luck babysitting him, Jihoon-ah."

"Shut up hyung. I'll be the one taking care of Jihoonie, you know."

 

 

 

 

 

"One last check, please make sure you have everything that you need. We won't be coming back to the company building for today," their manager shouts while the group prepares to ride their vans. Each pair has one vehicle each, which feeds Jihoon's dread even more. He will be alone. Inside a car. With Kang freaking Daniel.

They board the van and when they are comfortably seated inside, both of them are quiet. They are now on the way to wherever they are headed.

A staff, one of the producers of the show, is sitting behind them. Her voice breaking the silence made the boys jump. "Are you two not going to talk? I know this is a reality show but we won't get any material if you don't say anything."

Daniel coughs and glances at the other boy. Jihoon avoids his gaze.

"So Jihoonie. During the meeting, what did you say you wanted to do? I think that's where we're going," Daniel opens the conversation awkwardly.

Jihoon thinks for a moment, looking out the window. "I said I really wanted to go for a stroll, and just relaxing? How about you Daniel-hyung?" As much as he dislikes what was happening, Jihoon makes an effort, thinking about his fans. He finally takes a look at Daniel.

"Ah, I think I said I wanted to go to a cafe or a restaurant," Daniel's eyes and lips curve up into a soft smile.

Jihoon remembers that. He doesn't know why but for some reason he usually pays attention to things related to his hyung. Except for today, because he is completely drowned in his nerves.

The two boys fall into silence once more. The producer coughs discreetly but they pick up its meaning quickly.

"Hyung—"

"I—"

Both of them start. Jihoon's face burned with embarrassment. He shouldn't have talked. "You go first, hyung."

"Ah no, you go first."

Jihoon scratches his head. Suddenly the car is filled with Daniel's breathy laugh.

Jihoon furrows his brows and turns to Daniel. The other boy is still laughing. His laugh sounds nice to Jihoon's ears but his current confusion stops him from being able to appreciate it. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, it's just—" Daniel gasps between laughs and covers his mouth with his large hands. "—when you do that, it's funny—"

"When I do what?" Jihoon is still confused. His frown deepens, unable to understand the situation.

Daniel just waves him away with his hands, still dying with laughter.

"Hyung! What the hell!"

"Jihoon-ssi. That's a violation. I won't allow that to pass," the producer says, leaning towards where Jihoon and Daniel are. She grabs the string connecting the pair and adjusts it.

At this moment, Daniel seems to have recovered his soul and inhales a gulp of air.

Jihoon is even more confused. "What? PD-nim, why did you do that?" He asks, his eyes widening and his lips turning into an adorable pout.

Daniel answers for the producer. He knows that Jihoon's head was not in the right place during the meeting earlier. "Every time we get angry at our partners, the string will be shortened by a fifth," he explains. "Now, if you shout at me again for four times, we won't have any string left."

Jihoon inhales sharply and looks outside again. He doesn't know about this rule. It was probably explained in the meeting. Damn. I should've listened earlier. This is your fault hyung. His hands transform into fists. Everything is your fault hyung! He bangs one of his fists on his seat's soft armrest. He knows it's not really Daniel's fault but he can't help but blame someone in this kind of moments. One of the things that he despises the most is being trapped in difficult situations.

The producer's hawk eyes don’t fail to catch what Jihoon did to the armrest. "Jihoon-ssi...."

Jihoon exhales the air he's been holding inside and forces his mouth to twist into a barely there smile. "I'm just releasing my excitement for today," he bounces his fists on the armrests for a few times to display his "excitement" for the producer to see — not that he is sincere about it.

"That's a warning. I'll let it go this time. One more, and I'll shorten your string again."

The smaller boy gulps his own saliva, imagining him and his dreaded hyung without any distance from each other. Park Jihoon, you need to control yourself.

"I understand. I'm sorry PD-nim," Jihoon flashes his brightest smile at the producer.

At that moment, Jihoon has decided. He will not lose to himself. He will make it through this day. No matter what it takes. He will also not lose to Kang Daniel.

He focuses his sweet smile on the said boy. "Hyung! Let's have fun today, okay? I'm sorry for acting weird earlier. I was really just tired. I'm fine now." He widens his smile even more — and he adds a wink too.

Hmm, interesting, hyung's ears and cheeks turned pink, Jihoon notes.

Daniel smiles back at the other boy. "Let's have fun together Jihoonie. Let's make today unforgettable." He lifts his arms to pat the boy's hair, a habit he can't seem to control.

Jihoon feels the heat rushing to his cheeks. I won't lose to you, hyung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my twitter: @[meanhyung](https://twitter.com/meanhyung)  
>   
> as always, thank you for reading~ kudos and comments are always appreciated!


	3. cats and hands

"Hyung, where do you think we're going?" Jihoon wonders. They were in the car for thirty minutes already. He was getting bored. Daniel was telling a story about his cat named Rooney earlier. He also mentioned that Jihoon reminds him of cats. It isn't really weird for Jihoon to hear that. People treat him like a cute kitten all the time. He's used to it.

However, there is one funny thing about all of this. Park Jihoon is actually scared of cats. He hasn't really told anyone because he is embarrassed but he has a trauma that started when he was younger. He was in playing with his neighborhood friends in their local park, jumping around like what normal kids do, when he saw a stray cat wandering near the slides. Little Jihoon wanted to go closer, because it was so adorable, so small. Then, he tried to pet it, and—

A loud noise scared the other kids in the playground. It was Jihoon, wailing because of pain. The small gray cat had scratched Jihoon's hands. It bled, not that much, but at that time, the pain was unbearable so he cried really hard. He needed to be taken to the hospital to check for infections. It wasn't infected. Jihoon's mom almost collapsed with relief at that news. But since that day, cats became evil in Jihoon's eyes — they hurt people. Since then, Jihoon had never been close or tried to pet a cat ever again. He's okay with looking at cat photos, but if one shows up in front of him, he backs up in fear.

"Hmm, I'm not sure. We're in Gyeonggi-do already. Maybe we'll do our mission somewhere here?" Daniel answers. Jihoon can see that his hyung is thinking hard about it.

As if on cue, the van slows down and eventually stops. There is a camera waiting outside already. "Oh hyung there's a camera," Jihoon pointed.

"Kang Daniel-ssi and Park Jihoon-ssi," the producer announces. "We have now arrived to your first destination. During the meeting you both listed the things you wanted to do. So we are giving you the chance to do all of those today."

Daniel bounces excitedly in his seat. His excitement is so contagious that even Jihoon can't help but feel the same.

"Please leave the car and follow the staff waiting outside. They will show you the way to the first place in your itinerary. Have fun!"

The two boys left the van quickly, excited for the activities awaiting them.

They follow the staff waiting for them and they walk in a small alley, making a few turns here and there, for about eight minutes until they spot a small red brick building with big glass windows on the front. The area is really quiet. There aren't people around and no fans — yet? — since no one knows they are going to film here. The place is a little private, hidden from the world — you really need to walk to go there, cars wouldn't fit the pathway to the building. Maybe it's for people looking for a hideout. An escape from real life.

As they go closer, they can see _Purr Place_ written on the clear glass windows. Daniel peeks inside the glass windows for a second. There are a few tables and chairs. The place was empty, maybe their company reserved the whole place for the show. If you squinted closer, you can see a tall fence separating the table and chairs area from a much spacious area. Since it's called Purr Place, maybe that space is play area for... cats?

Right then and there, Jihoon stops walking and freezes. Of course, because they are bound together, the string also stops Daniel from taking a step forward. Jihoon's face is also frozen. His breathing turns into a ragged gasps.

Daniel, who glances back at Jihoon when he stops, is now worried for the younger. "Jihoonie? What's going on? Are you okay?"

When Jihoon doesn't answer, he moves closer to the small boy and grabs his arm. "What's happening to you? Answer me Park Jihoon." Daniel shakes the boy a little.

Jihoon recovers a little and tries to control his breathing. Inhale. Exhale. "Yes that's it Jihoonie. Breathe in, breathe out," Daniel turns to the staff. "PD-nim. Can we have a few minutes without the camera?"

The staff looks at Daniel, then at Jihoon, then at the camera. She must've thought it was something important because of the urgency in Daniel's voice, so she just shrugs and says, "Okay, but only for 5 minutes. We have a schedule to follow."

Daniel turns to Jihoon immediately after the camera is turned off. They are still in front of the building. "Jihoonie. What is going on?"

Jihoon doesn't answer. He is staring into nothing, while still breathing in and out, in and out. He is currently facing the biggest crisis since his Produce 101 journey started.

"Jihoon-ah. Park Jihoon. If you don't answer me, I don't know how to help you," Daniel whispers urgently. He doesn't want the staff to hear about this "problem" whatever this is. If they can, they must solve it themselves first.

"...."

"Park Jihoon. This is my last warning. Get your mind together, and tell me what's wrong," Daniel pulls Jihoon's arm so they were closer and whispers to the boy's ear, "or I'll get mad and the string will get even shorter."

When Daniel says this, his breath tickles Jihoon's ears. Daniel's lips also touches the boy's ears slightly when he speaks. It wakes Jihoon up from his daze. The spot on his ear where Daniel's lips lightly stroked seems to be on fire.

"What?" Jihoon blinks. "I'm okay hyung," he automatically responses.

"Park Jihoon. Stop lying. You're not okay at all. That was some reaction you got from seeing the place. Care to tell me why?"

"Hyung...."

"Park Jihoon. I told you I would get m—"

"I'm scared of cats, Daniel-hyung. I'm terrified," Jihoon exhales the breath he seems to be holding, his expressive eyes widening and displaying the fear he's feeling.

Daniel is dumbfounded. "..what?"

"Long story short," Jihoon inhales harshly, "I had a traumatic experience with a cat when I was younger and ever since that happened, I can't come near them."

Daniel is relieved that the boy told him about it. He thinks it's weird for Jihoon to have this kind of trauma that he didn't know — after being chosen as a group member for the temporary group, the team had a getting-to-know each other activity wherein they told unrevealed stories about themselves. Jihoon didn't mention anything about cats..

"What? Really? Why didn't you tell anyone? This is about your life and your feelings, it's important that you tell someone about it."

"I'm.... embarrassed..." Jihoon looks down. "People always always say, 'Ah, Jihoon is so cool, he's not afraid of anything!' I liked hearing that so I decided not to say anything about it. I don't want people to think I'm a scaredy cat."

Daniel finds that unintented pun hilarious that despite the serious conversation, he starts laughing lightly.

Jihoon hears the sound of his hyung's laughter and frowns, forgetting his current dillema. "Hyung, what the heck!!!"

"Hey, you two! We heard that. Jihoon got mad again, right?" the staff sighs. "We didn't catch that on camera, but we're still going to shorten it, so it's fair." She comes and adjusts the string shorter. Three adjustments left. Damn it. "You have two minutes left and we'll start shooting again," she leaves and Jihoon turns to his hyung who has now stopped laughing.

"Sorry Jihoonie. I couldn't help that your pun was exactly right for the situation," Daniel coughs, "Really, really sorry."

Jihoon looks at the ground and sighs, not really understanding his hyung.

"Park Jihoon."

"What?"

Jihoon feels Daniel's warm hand wrapping around his own cold one. It makes him look up to the older's face and makes his full cheeks blush.

"Did you know? I'm a cat whisperer. And I promised I would take care of you, right? I won't let anything bad happen to you," Daniel smiled at him reassuringly.

Jihoon won't dare tell anyone but this gesture made him feel safe. Despite the impending crisis he is going to face, his hyung holding his hand made him feel like no one is going to hurt him — not even evil cats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my twitter: @[meanhyung](https://twitter.com/meanhyung)  
>   
> as always, thank you for reading~ kudos and comments are always appreciated!


	4. trust and heartbeats

They are already inside the cat cafe, sitting on a table next to the window. The cafe’s theme is different shades of blue, gray and white. It makes the place look very peaceful, unlike Jihoon’s insides. When they entered earlier, Jihoon froze as an initial reaction to the smell and sound of felines, but his hyung's hand in his reassured him that he's going to be fine.

Jihoon is now in a better mood, still scared of course, but now feeling safe because of his very own protector, Kang Daniel. He knows that his hyung is good with cats, much to his relief. Daniel has been taking care of cats since he was young. Jihoon thinks that cats naturally liked Daniel so he kind of just trusted his hyung and put his life in his hands.

"Are you ready?" Daniel asks him.

"No, but I don't have a choice, do I?" Jihoon frowns.

"Hey, stop frowning. The camera is rolling already you know."

At his hyung's words, he starts to form a smile, a little forced, but still, a smile.

“That’s much better.”

“Daniel-ssi, Jihoon-ssi! You can go inside the play area now,” the staff yells. “The cats are ready.”

Daniel once again holds the smaller boy’s hand and squeezes it to provide comfort. “You’re gonna do fine Jihoonie.”

The two enter the play area and instantly all different types of furry creatures surround them. Jihoon inhales sharply, terrified but still making an effort to keep a slight smile.

I’m gonna be okay, Daniel-hyung is here.

I’m gonna be okay.

He chants this in his mind while Daniel leads him to a plain gray daybed with fluffy white pillows. Jihoon’s stance is stiff, striving not to cringe at the cats’ presence. They both sit down.

“See. That was fine, right?” Daniel asks Jihoon with a soft smile.

Jihoon just nods, sweat forming on his upper lip.

“Okay now let’s try petting the—“ Daniel starts to suggest but Jihoon surprises him by touching one of the cute furry kittens with a finger.

Jihoon couldn’t stop himself. When he sees the cute small kitten jump up to the daybed and settle in his side, he found it, enchanting? The cat looks harmless and soft. Also, the fact that Daniel is there right by his side helps him forget about his fear.

If Jihoon is honest with himself, he completely trusts his hyung. They started their friendship — or whatever relationship they have — during Produce 101 position evaluations. It feels like it’s been a long time since then. They’ve had a lot of other experiences together too — recording and performing the final songs together, surviving until the end of that horrible show, and now, debuting together in one group. During that amount of time together, trust was formed between them— despitewhatever Jihoon felt when his hyung got a little too close. Perhaps, this is why he is able to touch the cat. Trust.

Beside him, the older boy watches the other’s captivated look towards the kitten and can’t help but put together a smile on his face.

“Jihoonie you’re doing such a great job. I think I can leave you by yourself now,” Daniel laughs, teasing the boy by letting go of his hand and jokingly stand up.

Jihoon quickly grabs his hyung’s hand. “Hyung~ Why are you like this? You promised to take care of me right?” he pouts. Jihoon knows he looks stupid and embarrassing but he can’t be left alone with these animals.

“Aigoo,” Daniel laughs more and sits back down. He truly likes teasing the younger boy. When he does, Jihoon reacts by blushing lightly, and it makes him look even prettier. “Cats are not so bad. Just give them another chance.”

“I am, hyung. Thank you,” Jihoon smiles, genuinely this time. “But if I get scratched, can I hit you?”

“Ya, I’m older than you. And do you really want to do that? Our string will get shorter..”

“…”

“I knew it. Just relax Jihoonie, I told you I’m the cat whisperer. Cats adore me,” Daniel shows a smug smile.

“Seriously Daniel-hyung I wonder how your fans tolerate you.”

 

 

 

 

 

After playing with the cats and leaving the play area alive and unscathed, Jihoon and Daniel go to the dining area of the cafe to eat lunch. That wasn’t so bad, Jihoon thinks. He sincerely had fun playing with the cats, while Daniel watched over him, not wanting him to get hurt. Whenever a cat got a little too threatening with the other cats, growling at each other, Jihoon became scared. Daniel reassures him that it was normal for cats to be aggressive sometimes, especially if it’s about defending a territory or fighting over a mate.

After sitting down the table, the staff hands them the menu and tells them to choose whatever they wanted to order, but be mindful of their budget.

The two boys check the menu. Daniel is a picky eater, due to his seafood allergy. On the other hand, Jihoon isn’t picky, he likes to eat anything.

“Jihoonie, what would you like to eat today?”

“That sounds like you’re the one treating me,” Jihoon giggles. Yes, he fucking giggled.

Daniel’s eyes instantly snaps to Jihoon’s face when he hears that cute sound, and smiles.

Daniel-hyung’s face turned pink again. Interesting.

“Too bad I’m not, but if the two of us go out again next time, I promise to treat you.”

Jihoon’s eyes widen at those words. Free food is one of the best things in life for Jihoon. He really likes eating. “Really hyung? You promise that okay? I’ll hold on to that.” His eyes sparkle with joy.

“Of course, anything for our Jihoonie,” Daniel ruffles Jihoon’s hair. Daniel is glad to see the boy looking forward to his proposition. He looks at the younger’s eyes. His eyes are really expressive. They show everything.. and they’re so pretty, he feels like he could drown in them.

Thud. Thud. Daniel puts a hand on his chest.

Jihoon thinks about what his hyung said, happily smiling when he realizes.. if the two of us go out.. That sounds like… a date?

Jihoon’s heart skips a beat but he shakes those thoughts away.

While they are still deciding what to eat, the café entrance door opens.

“Hyung~!”

“What are you doing here?” Jihoon’s head snaps up and his mouth turns into an O-shape, as Lai Guanlin and Park Woojin enter the cafe, breaking the current peace in Daniel and Jihoon’s day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my twitter: @[meanhyung](https://twitter.com/meanhyung)  
>   
> as always, thank you for reading~ kudos and comments are always appreciated!


	5. feelings and changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a special chapter written through guanlin's view. mostly about how he perceives daniel and jihoon's relationship and his feelings about jihoon
> 
> also woojin is real observant when it comes to nielwink there might be a hint to future chapters *winks*

Guanlin and his mission partner, Woojin, are enjoying a very intense game of bowling at a game center while chatting about random things — such as their fans and how amazing they are, their excitement over their upcoming debut, and their activities during the past two weeks.

Woojin wins the game with five strikes, while Guanlin only had one. Woojin-hyung is surprisingly good at it, Guanlin thinks. Or maybe I just suck at it.

Or maybe... I just couldn't concentrate... because of....

An angelic face with cat-like eyes that turned up at the corners, full peach-like cheeks, and glossy plump red lips flashes in Guanlin's mind.

Jihoonie-hyung...

Guanlin wonders about his hyung. What were they doing now? Was Daniel-hyung teasing him again? Maybe Jihoon needs me and—

Annoyance stops his own thoughts. Daniel-hyung. That hyung that always makes Jihoon blush and—

"Woojin-ssi and Guanlin-ssi. Please prepare now, we'll be going to your next location. You will have your lunch there," the staff says.

"Alrighty," Woojin replies. Guanlin is not sure if their fans know about it, but his Woojin-hyung is actually a very fluffy human being. On-camera, he seems a little uptight — because of nerves probably — and quiet, but off-camera, he's actually very talkative and warm. He takes care of Guanlin all the time, too.

"Hyung, where do you think we're going?"

"Maybe a restaurant or buffet near this place? I'm not sure, PD-nim's ideas are very unpredictable. I mean, who would've thought that we would go bowling at a game center?"

"Ah, hyung actually, I wanted that..." Guanlin chuckles. "I wrote down bowling as a possibility because I thought I would be partnered up with..." The words fade from his lips as he was quickly reminded of his two hyungs spending "quality time" together. He's the one supposed to be with...

"Jihoonie," the boy with the adorable snaggletooth continues. "Don't look so surprised Guanlin-ah, everyone knows you're so smitten with him. Whipped. Devoted. And whatever else you want to call that. I also happen to know that bowling is one of Jihoonie's favorite things to do."

Guanlin blushes at Woojin's words. It's true. He really likes his hyung.

Park Jihoon is an angel.

From looks to personality to talent, for Guanlin, he's perfect.

He doesn't know when it started, or how, he just knows that he feels that way. He would do anything for his hyung.

"Don't look too sad about it, I'm sure he's going to be fine, despite how he reacts to our hyung. That's what you're worried about right? I know that Jihoon reacts weirdly when Daniel-hyung is around. I see it with my own eyes every day," Woojin rolls his eyes. "I don't know why he's like that, they've been together since Get Ugly right?" he wrinkles his nose. "Maybe Daniel-hyung did something weird to Jihoonie that's why—"

"The car is ready!" the staff yells.

What the heck was Woojin-hyung trying to say?! Guanlin thinks silently, lost in his own mind, while Woojin pulls him to the car.

Did Daniel-hyung do something to my Jihoonie-hyung?!

 

 

 

 

 

After a few minutes, the car slows into a stop.

"Woojin-ssi. Guanlin-ssi. The place where we're going is private, there aren't any fans so you don't have to worry," the staff explains. "But it's unreachable by car so after getting off, we have to walk from here."

They all get out of the car and walked through a series of alleys, until they reach a red brick building with _Purr Place_ written on the glass windows.

Guanlin goes to the side and looks through the windows, curious about what the inside looks like. After peeking, he immediately runs to the door — pulling Woojin along with him, who is now muttering, "This brat. What is it this time?" — opens the light wooden door, and speaks sweetly with a big smile, "Hyung~"

Inside the cafe sits his favorite Jihoonie-hyung, smiling contentedly while prettily flipping through the menu. When his hyung lifts his head up and sees him, his brightly smiling face turns into a shocked one. The angel-faced boy manages to say, "What are you doing here?" in a really weird way, like... like Guanlin and Woojin are not invited to his and Daniel-hyung's party.

I'm sure it's not like that. Jihoonie-hyung would never feel that way about me — like he doesn't want me there... right?

Woojin answers his friend’s question. "The staff told us that we’re gonna have lunch here. I'm starving. What do they have here?" He starts to walk to the other pair's table so he can look at the menu, pulling Guanlin along with him this time.

"Oh," Jihoon says.

Guanlin is still focused on his beloved hyung's face. After half a second, Jihoon recovers from the surprising situation and lifts the corner of his lips into a soft smile, which erases all the thoughts from Guanlin's head. It's the usual smile Jihoon often gives to him. It made the younger's insides melt.

As he walks toward the table, Guanlin then looks at the person sitting opposite Jihoon. Kang freaking Daniel, whose contented smile mirroring Jihoon's a minute ago turned into a slight frown when he sees the other pair. He doesn't even try to hide his distaste.

"Are the others coming too?" Daniel is the one who spoke this time. His face is relaxed now but his voice sounds a little stiff.

"I don't know hyung, maybe? We weren't told that we're all gonna meet here. We just got off the car, walked to this place, and then saw you. We're as surprised as you are," Woojin explains as he sits down and directs Guanlin to sit on the opposite side.

The table is round, medium-sized and can accommodate four people. Daniel and Jihoon sit across from each other, and the other pair sits the same way.

Going to the other side of the table reminds Guanlin of the string connecting him and Woojin. The string! He remembers that if someone gets mad, the string would get shorter. He instantly looks down at the other pair's string. It seems shorter.

He compares his and Woojin's unshortened string — he and his hyung get along well — to the other's.

"Hyung! Your string got shorter!" Guanlin screams, a little smug. He thinks that it got shorter because they got mad at each other. Which means that the pair is having a rocky start. It isn't long when he realizes that if they get mad again, no string would be left. Which means that their hands would be touching and that makes Guanlin feel really—

"Yeah, Jihoonie shouted at me twice," Daniel laughs at that. He laughs at everything though.

Guanlin is surprised when Jihoon suddenly speaks.

"It's your fault hyung!!!"

Usually, when Daniel teases Jihoon, the younger one blushes like a tomato and never says anything, just mumbles, "Ah, this hyung really." This is new. Jihoon answering back to Daniel's teasing is a first in the history of mankind.

Woojin is equally shocked. Who is this boy beside him? Is this really Park Jihoon?

"What? I wasn't doing anything. You're the one who gets mad without a reason!"

Guanlin notes that as Daniel says this, his eyes were sparkling with something Guanlin couldn't name... adoration maybe?

Could it be that...Daniel-hyung adores Jihoon?

It's possible, Guanlin thinks. Jihoon is really pretty. Besides, the other members adore Jihoon too. Especially Ong-hyung. Hell, Ong might even be on another level. Guanlin thinks Ong really likes Jihoon.

Guanlin thinks so because he always sees Ong gawking at Jihoon. He even tries to go to Jihoon's side whenever he has a chance and initiates skinship with him whenever he can. Ong doesn't even try to hide his crush on the younger anymore. Guanlin notices these things because he looks at Jihoon about 80% of the time. But Jihoon remains oblivious about this crush.

He remembers the time he asked Jihoon about it last week. Jihoon was helping Guanlin with his Korean lessons in their room.

"Jihoonie-hyung, have you noticed something weird about Ong-hyung?" Guanlin looked up from his Korean for dummies book.

The other boy thought for a moment and said, "No, not really. Why are you asking?"

"Uh, because... I just noticed that he always does skinship with you..."

Jihoon laughed, "What are you talking about, eh? That's just hyung being hyung. What, do you think he’s treating me differently compared to the other members?" Jihoon laughed again. "That's ridiculous Guanlin-ah, get your mind out of the gutter and just study."

And that was the end of that.

Jihoon is too naive, Guanlin thinks.

But...why is it that when he's with Daniel-hyung...? He reacts like... he's overly sensitive about the other's presence. They don't even touch that much. Just one smile from Daniel gets Jihoon into a twist.

Guanlin breaks out of his thoughts and returns to the present when one staff suddenly says, "Alright, that's it, no excuses, you got mad at each other again."

She sighs, goes to their table and shortens the other pair's string.

What? While Guanlin was inside his head, they fought again.

He watches his favorite hyung act weirdly around Daniel-hyung. Today is way weirder than other days.

What is happening with the world?! What is happening to Jihoonie-hyung???

After all the commotion, Woojin complains, "Can’t we all just have lunch in peace? We haven't ordered yet and I'm starving."

So the group shuts up and finally orders food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOH did you see that ongwink i put there @-@ can't help but include it because ongwink is damn adorable
> 
> ayyy btw how are y'all holding up with nielwink interactions in real life?  
> cos i'm. not. fine. i get all these sudden attacks everyday it's not healthy for my heart
> 
> my twitter: @[meanhyung](https://twitter.com/meanhyung)  
>   
> as always, thank you for reading~ kudos and comments are always appreciated!


	6. anger and territories

“I totally kicked Guanlin’s butt earlier with five strikes. Five strikes! That’s my best record ever. I think being with Guanlin brings out the best in me,” Woojin proudly shares the story to the group while chewing on a spicy chicken leg.

It was just the four of them having lunch together. They all thought the other members were going to come and eat with them as well, but after the food was served in front of them, they quickly forgot about it. They ordered spicy chicken, different types of pasta, and some garlic bread that Jihoon really liked.

“I’m usually good in bowling,” Guanlin mutters, barely audible. “But today I’m just… distracted.”

“Oh? Did you say anything Guanlin?” Woojin sees Guanlin’s mouth move but he couldn’t make out what the younger was mumbling.

“Nothing, hyung. I just said congratulations on your win,” Guanlin smiles as he pushes the pasta around his plate using a fork.

“Oh, thanks. How about you two? Jihoonie? Daniel-hyung? What did you do before lunch?”

Daniel answers the question for the both of them. “We were here. We just played around with cats.” Then, he smiles wide, like he thought of a great idea. “Ah, you know I have a story about Jihoonie today!”

Jihoon’s eyes widen slightly at this. No way! Is Daniel really going to reveal his trauma to everyone? It’s not even his secret to share.

Woojin stops nibbling on his chicken and Guanlin looks up from his plate. They look interested in whatever Daniel is going to say.

“What is it, hyung?” Guanlin prods Daniel to share the story.

While the others talk, Jihoon quickly thinks of a plan to stop his hyung. He lets his napkin fall “accidentally” on the floor and pretends to pick it up so he can peek under the table to find out where Daniel’s leg is located.

“Earlier, Jihoonie— oof!”

Jihoon straightens in his seat and kicks his hyung in the shin. He doesn’t do it hard enough to be painful but he does it with just enough strength to stop his hyung from opening his blabbering mouth.

Daniel knows exactly who did it to him. The blow didn’t hurt and to other people, it might look like he just exhaled and stopped speaking. It might seem like it’s nothing but for some reason it induces his anger.

He inhales a bit of air to calm himself down and then finally decides to lay his eyes on the prime suspect. Jihoon feigned a look of innocence, complete with widened eyes, a slight pout, and a raised eyebrow as if to say ‘What? Me?’. Daniel’s annoyance hits the roof.

“What happened Daniel-hyung? Why’d you stop speaking?” Woojin asks.

Daniel inhales again and decides to let it go this time. “Nothing. As I was saying, Jihoonie— oof! **“**

Jihoon does it for the second time. This hyung needs a lesson. Do not tell secrets that are not even yours to begin with.

“Daniel-hyung, are you okay?” Woojin asks again, his eyes now focusing on his hyung.

“I’m okay,” Daniel replies with a smile to hide his annoyance at the guilty boy, but his eyes showing a dark glint that spells trouble. “I just suddenly felt the need to go to the bathroom.” He then turns to the staff watching them eat. “PD-nim, can I go to the bathroom for a moment?”

The staff gives permission to leave the table. However, because Daniel and Jihoon were tied..

“You two need to go together,” the staff says.

Jihoon reddens at this statement. Why did he have to go with Kang freaking Daniel to the bathroom? This is illegal isn’t it..?

But somehow, he can’t really complain. Rules are rules. Even the other members will have to put up with their partners as well.

Daniel ends up leaving the table with a moping Jihoon in tow. When they arrive in front of the bathroom door, the older boy firmly grabs Jihoon’s arm, opens the door and drags the boy inside.

“Ow, hyung! That hurts,” Jihoon complains. Daniel loosens his grip and the younger immediately pulls out from his grasp and rubs the hurt area.

Daniel is silent. Dead silent. It is too quiet for Jihoon so when he still couldn’t hear a sound from his hyung, he looks up at his face. What he sees there was scary. It’s an angry Kang Daniel. This is a side of Daniel that Jihoon hasn’t seen before. Normal Daniel is a cheerful boy who teases him a lot and laughs at his every action. Angry Daniel is silent, eyes gleaming with mischief and annoyance.

“H-hyung?”

“Park Jihoon.” Daniel’s voice was low and breathy.

“H-hyung! I’m scared,” Jihoon stammers. He can still feel the strength from Daniel’s grip earlier.

Daniel takes a step forward. Jihoon takes a step backward. This becomes their choreography until Jihoon’s back hit the concrete wall. Jihoon doesn’t have anywhere to go now. His hyung is in front of him, blocking his way. Besides, he can’t even run. They are tied together for god’s sake.

Jihoon’s breathing becomes heavier as his panic grows. His whole being jumps when Daniel starts to speak.

“You. Park Jihoon. You did that. On purpose,” Daniel whispers fiercely. He moves his face close to Jihoon’s, noses touching, breaths mingling with each other’s.

“W-what?”

“You kicked me. While I was speaking. Do you know what I hate the most?”

Daniel leans even closer to Jihoon. The younger boy takes a shaky breath.

“It’s when—“ Daniel moves his lips next to Jihoon’s ear. “—people interrupt me when I’m saying—” his lips touch Jihoon’s ear and the boy shivers “—something important.”

Jihoon’s knees turn into jelly and he almost falls down but Daniel pins him on the wall with his hands.

“But h-hyung!” Jihoon bursts out. “Y-you were going to tell everyone about my trauma!”

“I— what?” Daniel blinks once. He becomes confused for a moment then it dawns on him.

“You thought I was going to tell them about that?” Daniel looks incredulous. He takes a deep breath. He was quiet for a few seconds and then he does something crazy. He starts to laugh.

“Hyung! Why the heck are you laughing?” Jihoon asks. He is calmer after hearing Daniel’s laughter, but now he is worried for his hyung’s mental state.

Daniel lays his head on Jihoon’s shoulder as he continues to laugh. After emptying out all the laughter from his system, he holds the younger’s waist, pulls him closer, and puts his arms around him in a hug.

Jihoon is really freaked out but his hyung’s arms around him make him forget about the current situation. He almost forgets how to breathe.

“Fuck, I must’ve scared you Jihoonie. I’m really sorry. I was going to tell them about your cute giggle earlier. I found it so cute that I thought the world ought to know about it,” Daniel explains while burying his face in Jihoon’s shoulder. “I’m sorry for scaring you.”

“Hyung, I’m sorry too. I was really stupid. But please don’t do that again. Do you know how terrified I was? It’s the first time I saw you angry and I didn’t know what to do. I felt helpless.” Jihoon breathes in and he can smell his hyung’s shampoo. Peaches. It calms him down.

Daniel sighs but he still doesn’t let go of the boy. “Jihoonie. I’m really sorry. I swear I won’t do it again.”

Jihoon starts to say something but he suddenly feels lips caressing his neck.

“Hyung..? W-what are you doing?” Jihoon’s breath quickens. The older boy still doesn’t move his lips from his skin.

“H-hyung!”

Daniel sighs and moves his head so that it rests on Jihoon’s shoulder again. “Jihoon-ah do you really not remember anything?”

Jihoon could barely concentrate due to that unexpected contact of lips and skin. It takes a moment for him to process what Daniel just said.

“Hyung.. wh-what?”

Both boys hear abrupt footsteps coming closer to the bathroom and they instantly break apart. Daniel quickly goes to the sink to wash his hands while Jihoon tries to catch his breath and cover his face with his hands.

The door opens and Guanlin and Woojin enter the bathroom. Guanlin, who is oblivious to the situation, just throws them a quick glance and does his business. Woojin stands still, staring at Jihoon and Daniel.

Jihoon is sure that his face is red. Woojin is pretty much boring holes on his face but doesn’t say anything.

When Daniel finishes washing his hands, the two of them walk out of the bathroom in silence.

Jihoon badly wants to ask his hyung “What the heck was that, hyung? What were you talking about? What thing do I not remember?” but they are now returning to the recording area, where several cameras lie ready to capture every moment. So Jihoon just stays quiet and thinks about what just happened — he blushed while thinking about it of course — until the other pair comes back. He decides to forget about this issue temporarily and pretend that nothing happened — at least until he can confront his hyung without any cameras following them. He doesn’t want to make the day crazier than it already is.

 

 

 

 

 

The group finishes their meal with no other incidents. After eating, the staff told them they still have fifteen minutes before they leave for another location. They all just decide to play with the cats since they have nothing better to do.

“Ahhhh, so cute!” Guanlin gushes in English cutely. Jihoon finds that totally endearing so his face automatically breaks out into a bright smile. He gives the youngest a fond look.

Daniel coughs and says, “Hey Jihoonie, you okay?”

Jihoon turns to Daniel. He knows his hyung is worried about his trauma but since he played with the cats earlier his fear decreased and he could actually breathe properly.

“I’m fine hyung. Thanks for worrying,” Jihoon replies earnestly. He turns back to Guanlin again, because the youngest has started to coo at the cute kittens prancing around the area.

“Hyung look they’re so cute!” Guanlin shows his gummy smile that Jihoon likes. It puts a sparkle of joy in Jihoon’s eyes.

“I know! I really had fun playing with them earlier.”

Jihoon feels a hand tugging at the back of his shirt. He looks behind him and finds Daniel carrying the kitten that Jihoon said earlier was his favorite. “Jihoonie~”

Jihoon can’t help but pet the kitten being held by his hyung. It’s his favorite kitten after all.

“Jihoonie-hyung! Look! They’re really cute when they’re sleepy! And when you pet them, they just love it,” Guanlin shouts to get Jihoon’s attention again.

Jihoon starts to turn to Guanlin again but Daniel quickly blocks Jihoon’s way with his body. “Jihoonie, are you really going to abandon this cute kitten?” Daniel pouts.

Meanwhile, Woojin watches all these events unfold with delight. Now, this is real entertainment. Who will win? Panwink vs Nielwink. He even knows their pairing name, recalling them from a previous research that he once did in an online community dedicated to their group.

Suddenly, a cat fight breaks in the play area, causing Jihoon to be scared. He clings to Daniel’s arm, not wanting to get hurt.

We have a winner here, Woojin thought. Nielwink-1, Panwink-0.

After the cats calm down, Jihoon breathes properly again. He remembers what his hyung said earlier.

“You know Daniel-hyung told me that cats fight sometimes because they’re defending a territory or fighting over a mate,” Jihoon shares the information to Woojin and Guanlin.

“Like humans,” Woojin snorts. He then looks at Jihoon, then at Guanlin, then at Jihoon again, and then at Daniel. “Yes, definitely like humans.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm woojin in this chapter haha i love his character <3  
> my twitter: @[meanhyung](https://twitter.com/meanhyung)  
>   
> as always, thank you for reading~ kudos and comments are always appreciated!


	7. playground and party

Jihoon and Daniel are left alone again in the car. A few minutes earlier, they said their farewells to the other pair — Woojin and Guanlin — and went on their separate ways.

The two of them stay silent during the trip. Daniel cheerfully plays with a small cat plushie that he got as a souvenir from the cat café while Jihoon absently fiddles with his own plushie, which is the same with Daniel’s, only in a different color — Daniel’s is sky blue and Jihoon’s is light pink. Jihoon actually wanted to get another type of plushie, but Daniel insisted that they get the same ones because their fans would think it’s cute, plus, Daniel said that every time they would look at their matching plushies, they would definitely remember all the nice memories they made at that place.

Nice memories? Jihoon recounts the day’s events. First, he and Daniel fought in the car. Then, he revealed his greatest secret and fear, exposing himself to Daniel. After that, Daniel went all angry and nuts in the bathroom, then started spouting nonsense at him. Nice memories indeed, Jihoon sarcastically notes.

He tries hard to stop himself from thinking about what Daniel said at the cafe’s bathroom, but his thoughts still drift to that moment. He closes his eyes and grips the soft doll tightly, suddenly feeling tense. What was the thing I don’t remember? He racks his brain for hints, clues, anything. At the moment, his mind seems to be blank, not coming up with anything. It makes him frustrated, to be very honest, but he shuts his emotions down or else he might snap at Daniel again — which in turn will make the string shorter. Which he doesn’t really want to happen again.

No one breaks the silence until they finally arrive at their next destination.

“A playground?” Daniel says incredulously.

Outside the car, there is a small, neat playground, obviously built for the tiny, quiet neighborhood. There are some kids running around, playing with each other, but other than that, there are no other people around.

“It’s actually a small park. Since Jihoon-ssi wanted to have a stroll, we’re giving you a chance to do that here. It’s a small neighborhood so it will be peaceful, no need to worry,” the staff explains, and then hands them a selfie stick. “Use this to film with the phone we gave you this morning. You can do whatever you want and come back after..” she looks at her wristwatch “..an hour.”

Jihoon and Daniel leave the car and start to walk towards a sturdy-looking wooden bench, their cameraman following closely behind. They both plop down on the hard seat, far from each other – as far as the string can let them, which isn’t much. Jihoon sets up the phone on the stick and holds it up, checking his face on the screen. Then, he adjusts his hold on the stick so that the phone’s camera can capture both him and Daniel in the frame.

He squints his eyes at the phone’s screen and sees that his hyung is currently staring intently at… him? Daniel is looking at his side profile, it seems. Why is he staring like that? Like… he wants something from me? Jihoon’s heart beats faster and his cheeks heat, giving them a pinkish hue, fortunately not very obvious on camera.

Jihoon covers his face and coughs, breaking Daniel’s gaze. The older boy suddenly looks baffled for a second, but then tilts his face towards the camera and smiles with all his teeth. “Let’s take a selca Jihoonie!”

Daniel puts an arm over Jihoon’s shoulder and pulls him into a tight side hug. Jihoon blushes slightly, the sudden skinship catching him completely off guard. They take a few photos together as Jihoon holds his breath the whole time because Daniel is too close — way too close for comfort — to him. He wonders if Daniel could hear his heart galloping like it’s in a race and it needed to beat fast in order to win.

After checking if they look good or stupid in the photos and a few seconds of silence, Daniel asked, “Jihoonie, what do you want to do here? This was your idea, right?”

Right. It was Jihoon’s idea after all.

“I… since there’s a playground maybe we can go there? It’s been a while since I’ve ridden a swing set…” Jihoon likes the feeling of being in playgrounds. It reminds him of his childhood which he truly enjoyed.

Daniel laughs because he finds the younger boy really cute. “Are you a kid?”

Jihoon is too sensitive at the moment, what with all the frustration and mixed feelings Daniel has been plopping down on him. He turns his head sharply towards Daniel and pins him with a glare that can probably kill.

“Hyung, I’m not kid. I’m 19, you fight me?” Jihoon says in English. He likes to throw these words to his hyungs as a joke but this time he’s somewhat serious.

“No no, I’m not fighting you,” Daniel replies in English as well. He just laughs and ruffles Jihoon’s hair. “Aigoo, you’re too cute Jihoonie.”

“Stop it hyung.” Jihoon puts his hands on his hips.

“You do look like Jigglypuff when your face is all puffed up like that,” Daniel chuckles, standing up and grabbing Jihoon’s wrist to pull him up. “Hmph, let’s go!”

“Where to?” Jihoon is confused, where is he getting dragged to?

“To the playground, of course. Where else?”

 

 

 

 

 

The feeling of riding a swing comes naturally to both Jihoon and Daniel. They sit and sway comfortably, automatically relaxing in the quiet environment.

“Ah, this is nice,” Jihoon can’t help but say, as he tilts his face up to the sky and inhales the fresh air. He smiles, feeling content and happy despite the confusing emotions dwelling within him. This is the first time in a while that they had time to do anything other than practice, recording or guesting, so it’s a nice change.

“Jihoon-ah.”

“Hm?”

“Do you remember?”

Jihoon holds himself still as he hears those words. What now, hyung?

“That time we were in Get Ugly, it was the first time we were in a team together, right?”

“…right.”

“It was one of the best times I had in Produce.”

Jihoon just nods along.

“Especially that party we had at Samuel’s house,” Daniel continues.

Upon hearing these words, Jihoon’s world seems to stop. Goosebumps form on his arms, as the cold creeps over his skin despite the warm summer air.

 

 

 

 

 

Jihoon didn’t mean to do it. He didn’t plan to do it when he was first invited by Samuel to that party.

“Yo, Jihoonie-hyung,” Samuel said as he lied down on the floor, next to where Jihoon was. The team were having a ten-minute break, trying to rest for a bit before diving into intense practice again. It was their last practice before the position evaluation the next day and everyone wanted to showcase their very best in this particular performance so despite feeling extremely tired, they still give their all even if it’s just practice.

“Yeah?” Jihoon was still panting from the vigorous popping moves included in their choreography.

“I’m having a party at my house tomorrow night, after the performance. You should come.”

“Eh? Why are you having the party anyway?” Jihoon almost said no. He didn’t really like going to parties.

“…hyung, it might be my last performance in Produce 101 you know?” Samuel answered, face serious.

Jihoon sat up and hit Samuel’s arm, hard. “What the hell are you talking about? Don’t joke around like that.”

“Ow! Hyung, that hurt,” Samuel shouted. Jihoon said sorry and rubbed Samuel’s arm tenderly to lessen the pain. “I’m not joking around though. Ranks go up and down all the time. We don’t know what will happen. This program is scary.”

That was true, Jihoon thought. No one is safe in this program. Everything you say might be held against you. Even if you’re a well-known trainee, just one wrong move and it’s over.

“…true, but still. Don’t think too negatively about it. You’ve been in the top eleven ever since the show started, you’re gonna be fine.”

Samuel sighed and frowned. “Somehow that’s even worse. The expectation of being in top eleven is high. I’m sure you know how it feels hyung.”

That was true as well. Jihoon had felt his burden grow as the show progressed. Since he got high ranks, the pressure was even higher.

“Aish. Way to poke on my worries…” Jihoon ruffled Samuel’s hair. “Let’s stop it with the depressing topic… I… I’ll come to your party.”

Samuel sat up and hugged Jihoon. “I finally got your yes. Thanks hyung.”

“Why does it matter if I’m there or not anyway? You can invite other people instead of me, I’m boring.” Jihoon bowed his head.

“Well, it’s because I invited our team only. That’s why it’s important that you’re there. The whole team is going.” Samuel punched Jihoon’s arm lightly. “And you’re not boring hyung! You’re really fun to be with.”

Jihoon smiled at that. “Sammy, stop flattering me.” Samuel just laughed and said, “It’s true though, ask anyone!” Jihoon’s cheeks turned pink from what the younger said.

“Ah hyung, before I forget, if you want you can sleep over in our house. Daniel-hyung, Seongwoo-hyung and Woojin-hyung said they will. Only Hyungseob-hyung is going home afterwards. We have two spare rooms available, so it should be fine.”

“I think… I’ll sleep over as well. It’s probably gonna end late anyway, so it’s safer if I just stay ‘til morning.”

“Okay! We’ll go together after the performance tomorrow. My parents will drive us there,” Samuel said as he stood up and stretched his legs.

“Everyone, back to practice!” Daniel’s voice boomed in the room.

 

 

 

 

 

“Wah, your house looks nice, Sammy,” Hyungseob gushed as the team entered Samuel’s humble abode. The house wasn’t small but it wasn’t too big either. It was clean, warm and comfy. Jihoon remembered his own home and felt a pang of sadness.

“Thanks,” Samuel answered, smiling proudly at his friends.

“No way, you have Wii!” Woojin jumped up and down upon seeing the game console.

“You guys want to play?”

“Hell yes!”

They played a dancing game where they needed to follow the virtual dancer’s movements on the screen. Since all the boys were pretty good at dancing, it was a game that could somewhat make or break their pride on their skills.

“Damn it! I almost won that round!” Seongwoo shouted, but he was smiling. He battled against Jihoon and of course, the younger wouldn’t let anyone else win.

“What ‘almost win’? I beat you by a lot of points, hyung. Just admit that you suck at this game.” Jihoon stuck his tongue out smirked at the older.

“Aigoo, so mean. But still, our Jihoonie is so cool,” Seongwoo cooed, pinching Jihoon’s cheeks and then putting his arms around the smaller boy.

“Shut up, hyung,” Jihoon muttered. He broke away from Seongwoo’s grasp and said, “Okay, who wants to be beaten up next?”

Daniel raised his hand and jumped up like an overexcited puppy. “Me, me, me!”

“Get ready to eat the dust then, Daniel-hyung.”

The song was randomly selected, so they didn’t know what they’ll get before they actually play the game. Daniel and Jihoon got the song Trouble Maker. This wasn’t the type of song he was expecting. He and Seongwoo danced to EXO’s Overdose, which fortunately he knew the dance steps to. This was why he thought the next song would also be a boy group’s song.

“Uh… what the heck…” Jihoon nervously mumbled, his face becoming red because of embarrassment. The other boys watching hooted and cheered. Seongwoo was the only quiet one, eyes nervously flitting back and forth the screen and the two players, as if he couldn’t believe this was really happening.

“Jihoon-ah, fighting!” Woojin laughed at Jihoon’s dumbfounded expression.

“Oh my god. What a great song choice, nice job Wii!” Samuel covered his laugh with one of his hands.

“Wow, I need to take a video of this,” Hyungseob said, taking out his phone and focusing it on the two.

“Yaaaa, everyone shut your mouths! Hyungseob-ah, stop it!” Jihoon sent a killer glare towards Hyungseob. If looks could kill, Hyungseob would probably be buried six feet under the ground already.

“Nah,” Hyungseob tutted and waggled his finger. “No way. You can’t even ask me nicely… Besides, this is just for fun. Loosen up Jihoon-ah. I’m not gonna leak it. Or… maybe I will. It depends on how you treat me.” He chuckled and smirked at the other boy.

“Aishhhh, you stupid as—” Jihoon started walking to where Hyungseob was sitting but Daniel speaking grabbed Jihoon’s attention and stopped him from murdering an innocent friend.

“Jihoonie. It says player one will dance as Hyuna. And player two will be Hyunseung.” Daniel smiled brightly, definitely unfazed by the song.

Okay. Jihoon was... player one. It’s just a dance, it’s just a game. What am I even nervous for? It’s just Daniel-hyung.

All thoughts gone from his mind — he didn’t even remember that he needed to tell Hyungseob to shove his camera up on some place where it would hurt — Jihoon coughed and muttered, “Whatever,” as the song started blaring from the TV’s speakers.

Both of them started to copy the dancers’ moves on the screen. Unknowingly, they played the game a little bit seriously, filling the room with a strange tension. Everyone turned quiet and keenly watched the two, the playful mood gone from the previous banter. Every time the dance required Daniel and Jihoon to be close to each other — too close to their liking — the audience held their breath, then collectively exhaled as the two put a space between them again. As the dance continued, Seongwoo’s brows started to furrow, Samuel fanned himself with his hands, and Hyungseob giggled like a school girl. Woojin was the only one who seemed unaffected, silently observing the players.

During the dance, Jihoon’s whole body trembled slightly every time any part of him came in contact with Daniel. There was this part where Daniel held his hips, so that they were in a sort of back hug. Jihoon gasped at the contact, soft enough that only Daniel could hear. When Daniel heard that sound, his grip on Jihoon’s waist tightened, but fortunately for Jihoon, that part ended quickly. But then the next part, it was Jihoon’s turn to touch Daniel. Their backs were facing each other. With shaking hands, Jihoon caressed Daniel’s back with a soft touch and slid his body down, his hands sliding down along with his body and brushing lightly over Daniel’s behind then stood up again. Jihoon felt Daniel move a little — did he flinch? — when he brushed over that part he wasn’t supposed to touch.

Good thing was that there was also a bit where Jihoon needed to dance solo in a very sexy, very feminine way. During this part, since Daniel wasn’t too close to him, he relaxed immensely that he was even able to joke around and danced so dramatically with a serious blank face, imitating Hyuna very well, and earning laughs and cheers from the other boys, breaking the tense silence that was upon them. After that, there were still a lot of parts where the two of them needed to touch, and put their faces near to each other’s, and they did it for the sake of the game. It was very awkward, of course, but despite the awkwardness, despite the laughter, despite everything, that potent, mysterious tension was still there.

After the dance finished — the song was only three minutes but Jihoon swore it felt way longer than that — they both sprang apart and fanned themselves because it was suddenly hot, too hot for comfort.

“You two look good together wow. You both did well!” Hyungseob said, beaming as he put his phone back in the pocket of his pants.

“Jihoon-hyung, your face is so red!” Samuel said, clapping his hands while laughing. “And Daniel-hyung’s ears too!”

Jihoon looked over at Daniel to check if his ears are really red, and sure enough, they were. Daniel just smiled sheepishly and covered his ears with his fingers.

“Shut up!! That was… hard to dance, okay? I haven’t danced to that song before…” Jihoon explained, frowning.

“If you say so.” Hyungseob replied, cackling.

He was frowning at that moment. However, if he was being totally honest, the light, feathery touches that his hyung traced over some parts of him made his heart beat faster. Daniel’s hands were gentle. He treated Jihoon as if he was fragile. Like Jihoon should be cared for. Like Jihoon was precious.

They played a few more rounds before Samuel went into the dining room to check if dinner was ready. After a few minutes, he went back and announced, “Let’s eat! My mom prepared a lot of food for us.”

The other boys paused the ongoing game between Woojin and Hyungseob — Hyungseob was winning by a mile, which was suspicious, since Woojin was very competitive person and usually hated losing. Maybe he was letting Hyungseob win on purpose, Jihoon thought, noting how soft Woojin was for Hyungseob these days — and followed Samuel into the dining room. On the table’s surface laid many different kinds of food. There were pizza, chicken, burgers, grilled meat, tteokbokki, and many more. It was a feast. The sight of all the food made the boys’ eyes widen and mouths water.

“Wah, this is amazing Mrs. Kim!” Seongwoo said, eyes full of the hunger and joy that he felt. They were all busy practicing the past two weeks, only focusing on dancing and doing their best, that’s why they couldn’t eat properly at all — plus the dorm’s cafeteria served the same freaking food over and over, everyone’s already sick of it.

“Help yourselves. We prepared this just for you.” Samuel’s mother smiled kindly, wrinkles forming at the corners of her eyes.

The boys didn’t stop themselves from digging in, their hunger taking over.

After stuffing themselves with delicious food until they couldn’t breathe, the boys played again, but this time, they played with Samuel’s PS4. Unfortunately, Hyungseob’s mom arrived after dinner to pick him up, so they said goodbye — Jihoon begged him one more time to delete the video but to no avail, Hyungseob just laughed at him. The five remaining boys played until they were all worn out and beat up by tiredness. Jihoon was already on his fifth yawn when Samuel stood up. “We should sleep now. Who’s going to room with whom, by the way?”

Right. There were only two rooms and four boys. Two can sleep on each room.

“Seongwoo-hyung and Daniel-hyung can share, I guess?” Woojin said.

Seongwoo groaned. “No. I can’t deal with his sleep talking tonight, please spare me,” he said dramatically. “Can I room with Jihoonie instead?” he pouted.

“If you’re aiming for cute, then it’s not working. You just look creepy, hyung.” Woojin snorted. “I’m rooming with Jihoon.”

“No way, I’m the one who should be rooming with Jihoon!” Seongwoo stood his ground.

“Oh my god, can you stop acting like you’re twelve? How about Jihoon picks his roommate? Is that fair enough?” Samuel suggested, sighing.

All eyes were on Jihoon. “Uh…” Jihoon’s eyes moved back and forth between Seongwoo and Woojin. He got a bit annoyed at how the two acted and his mind wasn’t working properly anymore so he just gave up on thinking and chose the non-annoying person among the three. “I choose Daniel-hyung, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my twitter: @[meanhyung](https://twitter.com/meanhyung)  
>   
> as always, thank you for reading~ kudos and comments are always appreciated!


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